


Hexed Duet

by Harthad



Category: DCU, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Supergirl (TV 2015), The Flash (TV 2014), WandaVision (TV)
Genre: 1930s, Alternate Universe - 1930s, Alternate Universe - Music, Angst with a Happy Ending, Broadway References, Crossover, Duet, Gen, It was Agatha all along, Magic Made Them Do It, Multiple Crossovers, Musical References, Road Trips, Road trip gone wrong, Wanda Maximoff Needs a Hug, road trip fun
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-18
Updated: 2021-03-24
Packaged: 2021-03-26 21:00:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,365
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30111966
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Harthad/pseuds/Harthad
Summary: When Barry and Kara decide to go on a road trip across the country, they didn't think to wonder what could be waiting for them in the sleepy little town of Westview, New Jersey... when two superheroes accidentally wake up the Hex again, Agatha Harkness will stop at nothing to harness their powers for herself. But how can she when Barry and Kara's own love for musicals seem to be working against her? Can Jimmy and Monica figure out a way to end the Hex once and for all? Or will SWORD and Director Hayward mess things up as usual? Also, what's the Music Meister doing here? Can Barry and Kara find a way out of the Hex and back on their road trip before they get sucked into song and dance forever? ***SPOILERS FOR WANDAVISION!!***
Relationships: Barry Allen/Iris West
Comments: 2
Kudos: 19





	1. Road Trip

**Author's Note:**

> lots of spoilers for wandavision, you have been warned!

“So tell me again why we’re out in the middle of the woods in New Jersey?”

“Come on,” Kara laughed, both hands on the steering wheel as she looked ahead into the bright blue summer sky ahead of them. Barry sat next to her in the passenger seat of the car, window rolled down to catch the warm breeze as they drove past trees, trees, and yes, even more trees. Maybe they had passed a ‘Welcome to New Jersey’ sign a while back, but even that had been lost as Kara had elected to take a random turn off the highway and enjoy the sweet breath of fresh air on the back roads.

“You’re the one who suggested a road trip,” she added, glancing over to her best super friend. “Some time away from both our cities, taking the time to catch up with each other – something we only do during Crises, I have to add –”

“Or run-ins with museum-obsessed supervillains,” Barry griped, and Kara punched him lightly.

“See?” she grinned again, shaking her hat off her head so her hair flew loose in the wind. “We definitely needed this. Got some time off work, trusting the rest of our teams to keep a handle on things while we’re gone...”

“And they’ve got us on speed dial just in case anything happens, yeah, yeah, I know!” Barry put his hands up just in case Kara decided to hit him again. “Okay, maybe you’re right. We did need this.”

Kara flashed him a blinding grin. “We totally needed this. Come on! What’s on the radio, let’s hear some tunes –”

“Oh, so you can reject them all again like you did with the first five CDs I put on?” Barry laughed while Kara fiddled with the radio knob. Upbeat music squawked loudly, setting the mood perfectly. Just two friends, off on a crazy, whirlwind road trip. It was the most fun either of them had in ages.

“Fine, fine, let’s get some local stuff... just think,” she smiled again. “We could be anywhere tonight. Sleeping under the stars, in some weather-beaten cabin, some small town where everyone knows each other and there’s no wifi...”

“Hey, Joe expects me to be back at the precinct by Friday, so don’t get any ideas about getting lost permanently,” Barry joked, and Kara rolled her eyes.

“You both know that we could never get lost. Super speed and flying does have its perks!”

“Somehow, I never imagined that we’d ever use our powers on a road trip,” Barry shrugged. Kara scoffed.

“Are you kidding? Clark does it all the time! Next time we run into each other, you have to ask him about this one time where he burnt all the hot dogs overnight because –”

“Hey,” Barry suddenly leaned forward, frowning as he started to adjust the radio dial. “Hey, wait a minute – do you hear that?”

Kara frowned as the radio jumped and sputtered, suddenly broadcasting a cheery little tune that seemed very out of place with the top 40 hits that had previously been blasting through the speakers.

“Wanda Vision?” Kara made a face, exchanging glances with Barry as a theme song for some old comedy show flitted in and out through the speakers. “You ever heard of this before?”

“No,” Barry shrugged, turning the dial again. “Maybe it’s an ad?”

The trees started to thin out, turning to barren, wide open fields and plains. The road seemed like it would go on forever in front of them, but it wasn’t to be. Kara swore as the car bucked and shuddered, finally stuttering to a stop on the side of the road. She sighed, but Barry smiled.

“Now it’s a real road trip, right?” He sprinted out of the car, popping open the trunk while Kara got out to look herself.

“Looks like we got a flat tire,” she said, crossing her arms. “Should be a spare one in the trunk –”

“There’s nothing,” Barry returned, closing the trunk as he pointed over his shoulder. “But gimme five minutes, I bet I could run and come back with something from that town we past three hours ago –”

“No, wait,” Kara said, distracted as she moved away from the car. “Look, there’s a town up ahead, we can just –”

Barry ran forward, expecting to be at the gas station and back in less than a second. But he barely passed the friendly “WELCOME TO WESTVIEW!” sign before he slammed into something invisible, solid, and very much not friendly at all.

“Woah!” Kara exclaimed, rushing to help her friend up from the tarmac. She lowered her glasses, x-raying the invisible barrier in front of them that apparently separated the rest of the town from any outsiders. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Barry said, stretching up. He took a few cautious steps forward, pressing his hands against the barrier which seemed to pulsate and react under his touch, almost like touching a tv screen. “What do you think this is?”

“Whatever it is, it goes all the way around for miles,” Kara said, quickly flying back down to his side. “I’m not sure we can get –”

“I can try phasing,” Barry said, and Kara made a worried face, but stepped back so he could try. Tentatively, Barry raised his hands and started to push against the screen barrier, his hands moving faster and faster. He grimaced, taking a step forward.

“This is deep,” he said, gritting his teeth. “I don’t think we can –”

“Wait!” Kara yelled, yanking him back out as she grabbed onto his shoulder. “Maybe... maybe we shouldn’t go in there alone. We can call for backup, call Cisco and Alex and Iris –”

“Aren’t you the least bit curious?” Barry pleaded. Kara sighed.

“I’m just saying, you know we’re stronger together when we have our teams –”

“But what are the chances of us being the two to just find this weird tv wall in New Jersey?” Barry asked. “Look, if it ends up being dangerous, we can always go back and get our teams. Speed-dial, remember?”

“Have you always been this reckless?” Kara asked, giving him a hard stare. Barry shrugged, spreading his hands apart.

“I just think it’d be better to check it out first so that we have all the evidence before we go telling people,” he said. “Isn’t that what your reporter brain is telling you?”

“My reporter brain is telling me it could be dangerous, and your CSI brain should also be telling you the same thing,” Kara retorted but pocketed her glasses. She placed a tight hand on Barry’s shoulder, pointing towards the strange tv wall.

“Alright. You win! But if we run into something dangerous and deadly, you will be the first one to tell Iris and everybody else.”

“Aren’t I always?” Barry asked, and reached out to touch the wall once more. In one fluid motion, he and Kara phased through the barrier...

... and found themselves inside Westview, New Jersey.


	2. Investigation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for reading the beginning so far, really appreciate it! :)

Barry and Kara pushed through to the other side of the barrier, forcing their way into a world that... looked exactly the same as the one they had just left.

“What kind of town has an invisible wall around it again?” Barry asked, grimacing up at the bright blue sky and sun above them.

“The sort of town that doesn’t want anyone to know that it’s here,” Kara replied, x-raying the screen barrier. “Look – the car’s gone.”

Barry looked. Sure enough, the car they’d both taken here was either gone, or just blocked from sight. Up close, this barrier seemed hazy and blurry, fragmented and distorting everything once you looked through.

“We could try to go back,” he suggested, but froze as he looked down at his hands, and then at the rest of him. He was wearing an old-timey jacket and sweater vest, tie and long slacks with black shoes.

“Uh... Kara? We weren’t... we weren’t wearing these clothes before, right?”

He turned back to look at Kara, who was now dressed in an old-fashioned dress, coat and hat, like something from the 20s or 30s. Her eyes went wide.

“No,” she said, shock quickly turning to fear as she turned in a wide circle. “No, we definitely were not –”

“This kind of looks like what we wore in the –” Barry paused, and Kara and him locked eyes.

“Music Meister,” they said at the same time. Kara jumped up off the ground, flying into the sky at the same time Barry tested that he still had his speed, and ran the perimeter of the barrier in seconds. Both met back at where they started, both incredibly relieved.

“Still got powers,” Kara said, smiling a little bit. Things could definitely be worse.

“Still have to figure out where we are,” Barry reminded her. They both turned their backs on the barrier, looking ahead into the town. It looked as normal as you’d expect any old small town would, but nothing could shake how unsettled Kara was growing moment by moment.

“Let’s take a look around,” she suggested, and Barry nodded. “Try and figure out as much as possible before anything... happens.”

“Or anyone finds us,” Barry said back, and Kara returned his glance.

“Split up, we’ll cover more ground.”

Barry took off, arcing around the town the fastest he could without being noticed. Kara flew overhead, scanning the buildings for any sign of life. There was plenty, but even though she scanned for heartbeats and people, anyone she saw was frozen and unmoving. Everyone and anyone, all throughout office buildings, movie theatres, and their homes, all were silent and still. Kara’s frown and worry deepened, but she flew back down to the ground to think. Seconds later, a red streak did the same. Barry joined her on the side of the road.

“You saw them too?” he asked. Kara nodded.

“It’s like something out of the Twilight Zone,” she said, and Barry shot her a look.

“Musicals and Rod Sterling? Are we the same person?”

“Let’s just hope we don’t have to deal with both things at once,” Kara said, giving him a heavy look. Barry glanced around, then ran over to a newspaper stand, grabbing the top paper and running it back to Kara.

“I think it might be a little too late for that,” he said, and handed the paper over. Kara skimmed quickly, but what scared her the most was the picture on the front page.

“That’s us, dancing, in the Music Meister’s dream,” she said, dumbfounded. Kara looked up at Barry, frantically trying to piece together the pieces of the puzzle they were presented with. “Do you think this was a trap? Coming here?”

Barry glanced away. “I don’t know. But whatever it is, we have to find out more. You read the article, it says we’re performing tonight –”

“But what are we performing?!” Kara asked, stricken. Barry shrugged.

“Maybe we’ll be able to find out more when we get to the theater.”

“Alright,” Kara resolved. “But if this turns out to be a theatre-obsessed supervillain from either of our lives, we are getting out of here the first minute we can.”

“God, I hope it’s not that,” Barry said, his voice pained. He and Kara ran off through the town, arriving at the theater in mere moments. They burst through the doors, coming to a halt when they reached the empty lobby. Footsteps echoed from within as the doors banged shut behind them.

“Okay, this is seriously getting really creepy,” Barry muttered.

“Tell me about it,” Kara nodded. “Can we just find whoever’s doing this and get back to our road trip?”

Barry nodded, and took off at a sprint through the rest of the theater. He ran through dressing rooms and the backstage, past the stage door and into the auditorium itself. He skidded to a halt just inside the entrance, taking in the sight before him. For just a second, every single person sitting or talking inside the theatre had been frozen, as still as everyone else he and Kara had seen when they did a search of the town.

But then he’d blinked, and he immediately doubted what he was seeing. It all happened so fast Barry wasn’t even sure if anyone had been frozen, and for him that was saying something. Kara joined him as the scene roared to life before them both: patrons getting into their seats, most laughing and chatting as they made their way back from the bar.

“Need some help, dears?”

Barry started in fright as a woman with dark hair and a purple and black dress appeared to his left. Kara straightened up, immediately on guard as the woman gasped, pointing.

“Oh – oh, it’s you! I know exactly who you are!”

“You – you do?” Kara exchanged a startled glance with Barry as the woman grinned.

“Why, you’re both on the front page for tonight’s entertainment in the newspaper! Going to put on a show for everyone here in Westview, are you? You must be Miss Kara Danvers –”

The woman reached out and grabbed Kara’s hand to shake it aggressively, and then did the same with Barry.

“And Mr. Barry Allen! It is such a delight to finally meet you both! We don’t often get out-of-towners here at all these days, my husband Ralph says it has to do with the weather here – oh but here I am, distracting you before your big performance!”

“Who – who are you, exactly?” Barry wondered, and the woman smiled even more.

“I’m Agnes, dear, I know pretty much everything that goes on in this town, so never hesitate to come to me for anything you need! Now go on up there! The people are waiting!”

Agnes pushed Barry and Kara towards the stage as the lights dimmed. Kara shot Barry a panicked glance as the lights flooded them.

“Do you know what we’re performing?”

“Not a clue,” Barry admitted, and froze. He stared at Kara. “You’re... you’re, uh –”

“I’m what?” she whispered, and then looked down at her clothes. Gone was her regular day dress, and in its place was a resplendent evening gown. Barry’s sweater vest and slacks had been transformed into a neat black suit.

“Who is doing this?!” Kara hissed. Barry shrugged, shaking his head, before looking out at the expectant audience. He shot another panicked look at Kara, who gave him the same, and opened his mouth to sing.

***

Later that evening, the audience filtered out of the theatre after applauding their hearts out for Kara and Barry’s performance. Roses had been thrown, along with gifts, other flowers, and anything the audience could use to show their appreciation. Barry had looked out into the departing crowd, hoping he could catch a glimpse of a familiar face like that Agnes they’d met, or even the Music Meister – something to confirm that they were dreaming, or trapped, or anything that could mean an explanation for their changing clothes, and the fact that they were suddenly performers in a 1930s nightclub again.

But he’d seen nothing like that, and neither had Kara. They’d both gone and found their dressing room, along with other personal items they both seemed to own here: Kara found her ID and reporter’s badge – apparently she worked for the Westview Gazette. Barry had found the same, plus his badge for the Westview Police Department.

“It’s like our lives are being rewritten,” he said, troubled, as he stared at the badge in his hands. “It’s almost like – this wants us to believe we’ve always lived here.”

“But we haven’t,” Kara pointed out with a frown. “Even Agnes called us out-of-towners earlier –”

“Unless whoever’s doing this to us is rewriting time as it’s happening,” Barry said, giving her a dark, unfocused look. “Kara, what if it’s –”

“Don’t,” Kara said softly, placing a comforting hand on his arm. “Don’t go there. Elliott wouldn’t be as unpredictable to make all this. Really – musicals? Do you think he’s the musicals sort of guy?”

“No, no, you’re right,” Barry sighed heavily, pocketing his new id badge and forcing a smile onto his face. “The sooner we get to the bottom of this, the better.”

“Come on,” Kara said, releasing him and gathering up her things. “Let’s go find out what else this town wants from us.”

***

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> would love anyone's feedback so far on what they think might happen! :D Thanks for reading!


	3. Something Strange Afoot

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> again, thanks for reading all! really enjoying getting into the mystery here!

“Where’d everyone go?” Barry asked as he and Kara walked out onto the empty street outside the theatre. Kara frowned and looked around, flying up into the sky after confirming no one was around. She scanned the area again, sinking back down the ground with an increasing feeling of prickly unease.

“Everyone who was at the theatre with us... they’re all frozen again, just stopped. They’re still alive, but –”

“Well, we have to get them out of here,” Barry resolved, locking eyes with Kara. “I’ll try to phase through the barrier again, and we’ll see what we can –”

“Woah, hold on,” interrupted a strange, familiar voice. “What are you two doing here?”

Kara whipped around, inhaling sharply. Running out from inside the theatre was a man with curly dark hair, a smart suit, and wide, hypnotic eyes.

“What are we doing – what are _you_ doing here?!” Kara shot back at the same time Barry exclaimed,

“Music Meister? But you –”

“Yeah, I know, I said I was done with you too, you both clearly learned my lesson,” the Music Meister griped. “Power of love and all that – you’re welcome both of you, by the way, it was me who convinced the Monitor to make you Paragons of Love and Hope, he was not a fan of the musical number I used to convince him, though – anyways, do you know where we are?”

“No,” Kara said, taking a step back and eyeing the trickster. “I’d have thought you’d know, since you’re the one making us perform again –”

“What? Oh – you think that was me?” The Music Meister exclaimed, then shook his head. “Not at all, credit is where credit is due, and I’m not that powerful to create a whole town just to make you perform for me! No, someone else must be doing this to us.”

“And why should we believe you?” Barry asked. “You messed with our heads last time, why wouldn’t you be doing it again?”

“What is it going to take to make you believe me?” The Music Meister asked, almost pleading. He snapped his fingers, and then shrugged.

“See? No magic here, none whatsoever. It could be that we’re in some sort of pocket dimension, something that’s blocking us from using our powers –”

“Uh, no, we’ve got our powers,” Kara argued, pointing between herself and Barry. “Why don’t you?”

“Apparently there’s a lot we don’t know here, or about this place,” Barry cut in before the Music Meister could answer. “An hour ago someone called us strangers, and then we found id cards in our dressing room.”

The Music Meister reached into his pocket, fishing out an id card of his own. He squinted, frowning.

“Okay, so have either of you been renamed? Because I’m someone named... Ryan Reynolds?”

“Like the actor?” Barry traded confused glances with Kara.

“No, a... politician?” The Music Meister wiped the card with his thumb. “That’s crazy, why would my name be Ryan Reynolds and not have it be the actor –”

“Why would your name be Ryan Reynolds at all?” Kara asked. Barry held up his hands.

“Do you have an address on that, anything that says where you might live here in... what’s the town called again?”

“Westview,” Kara answered, and the Music Meister – Ryan Reynolds – made a face as he drew out another card from his pockets.

“House number,” he muttered. “137 Elm Street –“

“Hang on,” Barry nodded, and grabbed Ryan’s arm. “Kara, meet us there?”

“Got it,” Kara said, and Barry sprinted off before Ryan had a chance to protest. Kara shot up into the air, following the red streak on the ground to a charming little blue house, completely with a white picket fence, gabled roof, quaint porch and a tidy little yard.

“This is it,” Barry said, and Ryan stumbled off to deposit the contents of his stomach. He stood back up with an uncanny grin.

“Well that was absolutely exhilarating, Barry! The thrill, the rush! Oh, and here’s Kara now –”

“Maybe you could not shout our real names in public while we’re showing off our powers?” Kara asked, taking another covert glance around. But the street they were on was empty.

“There’s no one around,” Ryan shrugged, making his way up the front porch. “And unless anyone else has super hearing like you, I doubt anyone’s listening, either.”

“Are you always this smug?” Kara complained, reluctantly following Barry and Ryan inside the house. Ryan paused in the entryway, grimacing at the state of the inside. A heavy layer of dust covered everything in sight, with papers strewn all across the floors and a putrid smell emanating from within.

“It smells like something died in here,” Barry coughed, covering up his mouth with his shirt. Ryan’s face darkened.

“I’d be careful talking about that if I were you,” he warned, wiping away his watering eyes. “We still don’t know what this town wants from us.”

“How can you be so sure it wants anything from you?” Kara frowned. Barry took a step forward, then shook his head. He raced around the house, only his lightning visible as he grabbed a mop, dustpan and other cleaning supplies and went to work.

“Uh, hello?” Ryan scoffed. “Trickster demon here, remember? What wouldn’t it want from me? I’m the only one here with actual reality-bending powers.”

“Yet another reason why we shouldn’t trust you,” Kara grumbled. “Are you sure you’re not the one behind all this?”

“Kara, please,” Ryan laughed, and spread out his arms. “If I really was, do you think I would’ve left my own house so dirty like this? Oof!”

He stumbled forward as Barry came to a stop, shoving the broom and dustpan into his hands.

“I shouldn’t be doing all the work here,” Barry shrugged, and Ryan shot him a dirty look.

“Since you two obviously don’t trust me, why don’t we call a truce,” he suggested, slowly bending down to dust the hallway, which Barry had left dirty. “We’ll only work together until we all figure out what this town wants from us, and are able to leave.”

“I thought we were already doing that?” Kara frowned, tilting her head. Ryan scoffed, returning back to cleaning.

“Fine, do it your way. But next time you need an all-powerful, interdimensional being with infinite knowledge of the multiverse, dreamscapes and pocket dimensions, you know who to ask.”

“Yeah, okay, Ryan Reynolds,” Barry sighed, and turned to Kara, dropping his voice. “He’s right, though. We might need his help especially if he’s trapped here along with us.”

“Only until we rescue everyone else, and ourselves,” Kara agreed, nodding along. She jumped as something banged and crashed from outside. Barry looked at her quizzically.

“What is it?”

“Someone’s hurt,” Kara breathed, and ran outside. The sky had darkened to a thick twilight evening blue, streaked with red and orange above their heads. The street lay bare, the whole town seemed empty except for them. Streetlamps flickered in and out of the dark, cautiously illuminating a figure lying prone on the ground. Kara ran up to them, turning them over on their back. Whoever it was, they were choking. She looked up at Barry as he joined her, a desperate plea in her eyes as she started the Heimlich.

“Come on,” she murmured, a bead of sweat forming on her brow as she tried to save their mysterious neighbor. The person coughed and coughed, finally sitting up safe as whatever had been stuck in their throat was dislodged. They looked up at Kara, gratitude shining in their eyes.

“Thank you,” they said hoarsely, and Kara slowly helped them to their feet as they looked around, wide-eyed. “I thought – I thought I was in my house –”

“Where do you live?” Barry asked, stepping up. Their neighbor pointed off down the street, hand starting to tremble.

“Don’t worry,” Kara soothed, rubbing their back. “We’ll get you home – what’s your name?”

“Shel,” they said, taking a deep breath. “Hey – you two were the performers from tonight, weren’t you? You were great, we never had performances like that last time –”

“Last time?” Barry asked quizzically. Shel met his eyes.

“When Wanda was in charge.”

***

“So what was up with the neighbor?” Ryan asked as Barry and Kara reentered the house they now all shared. Barry locked the door, taking one last glance outside through the peephole – but the street was now completely dark.

“They were choking,” Kara said, wrapping her arms around herself. “I saved them, they’re fine, but – they had no memory of getting out to the street at all.”

“And no one else was around,” Barry muttered. “No one else came to look, either.”

“Well, that makes sense,” Ryan shrugged. “You two are heroes, aren’t you? You notice things that no one else does. That’s what you do.”

“Yeah, but –”

“Who was Wanda?” Kara asked, shaking her head. “I was so worried about Shel I didn’t even think to ask –"

“I think we should all just go to bed,” Ryan offered, standing up and stretching from the couch. “We’re not going to find out anything about this town if neither of you sleep.”

Kara shook her head. “I’m going to take another look around, see what I can find on patrol.”

“And I’ll check up on Shel,” Barry resolved, already out the door in seconds. The Music Meister threw his hands up in the air, sighing heavily as the two superheroes ignored his advice, and disappeared from sight. He sat back down on the couch, muttering to himself as he turned the dial on the radio up.

“All these superheroes think they have it all under control all the time,” he mumbled, fiddling with the knob until it was attuned to the right frequency so he could actually listen to some good music. But the music sputtered and jumped, dying out for a moment so that a woman’s voice cut through.

_“Barry, Kara, this is Iris – we’re waiting for you just outside the Hex, respond as soon as you can –”_

The Music Meister shut the radio off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for reading this chapter! would love it if you commented too! the ryan reynolds joke is a reference to darren criss' character in wayward guide to the untrained eye by the tin can bros, since he also played the music meister in the flash & supergirl! :)


	4. At Times Like These

Kara yawned as she woke up early the next morning, stretching luxuriously in her bed. She hadn’t had such a good night’s sleep like that in ages, at least not that she could remember. She opened her eyes, blearily blinking back sleep as her dream from the night before faded and slipped away. It’d been something about a road trip with –

“Kara?” Barry knocked on her bedroom door, and Kara sat up in shock. That hadn’t been a dream. “Kara, I’m heading out to the station, the Music Meister – uh, Ryan’s downstairs, but I made breakfast if you want any –"

“We’re still here,” Kara breathed, getting changed in an instant before she flew out of the room, past Barry and down to the kitchen. Ryan stood at the stove, nonchalantly flipping pancakes. “How is this – do either of you remember coming back to the house last night?”

“Well, I never left,” Ryan shrugged, while Barry paused on the edge of the steps, panic quickly setting in. He ran to the front door, flinging it open, but just as before, the street last night was empty. Not even any birds were singing outside in the perfectly-pruned green yards and picket fences.

“I didn’t,” Barry said hoarsely, slowly turning back to face Kara. “I was with Shel, we were talking, and then I think I closed my eyes for a second and –”

“You woke up in bed this morning,” Kara said grimly. Barry nodded.

“Let’s try going back to the barrier,” Barry suggested. “We can try and find another way out, with your heat vision or something –”

“Hello, neighbors!”

Kara looked over her shoulder. Walking up the path was Agnes from the theatre yesterday: Kara remembered her, with her boldly checkered dress and ever-effusive grin. She carried a plate of something that resembled a cake in her arms, something she quickly handed off to Barry as she reached out and shook Kara’s hand.

“Thought I’d drop by and say hello and give you a proper welcome,” Agnes smiled, pumping Kara’s hand up and down like a marionette. “Been a while since Westview’s had any new blood around here, and you can imagine I was so delighted when I heard our two new stars were moving right to town!”

“Agnes, right?” Kara tried to smile, but failed. “It’s – it’s a pleasure to meet you too, but I really should get changed out of these pajamas for work –”

“Kara,” Barry said softly, shooting her a small warning look. Kara glanced down, finding she’d miraculously changed out of her pajamas already and was wearing whatever passed for reporting clothes in the 30s. She looked back up at Agnes, trying very hard to smile again as Agnes gave her a quizzical look.

“I mean, uh, never mind! Looks like I already did that! Say, Agnes, you don’t happen to know where the Westview Gazette’s offices are located, do you?”

“Oh!” Agnes clapped her hands together, smiling widely. “Of course I do, don’t you worry dear! I can show you there right away, just follow me and we’ll be on our way. Don’t forget to save some of that fruitcake for later, Mr. Allen, I’m sure Kara will be hungry after her first day of work! You’re a reporter, aren’t you? Fascinating! You know, my husband Ralph once dreamed of being a reporter too, but he never quite made it...”

“Bye!” Barry called as Agnes led Kara away down the street, and off to the reporters offices. He took one last look out at the empty street, and raced back inside to place the fruitcake on the kitchen table. He stopped for a moment, inspecting it. Was that a bite taken out of the edge?

“Don’t you have the station to go to?” Ryan asked, sitting down in front of the radio with a pile of pancakes on his plate. Barry started, thinking fast.

“And what are you doing while Kara and I are at work?” he asked, deciding to leave the fruitcake alone for now. Ryan shrugged, waving his hands in the air.

“Guess I’ll listen to the radio, since there’s nothing else to do in 1930,” he said, making a face at Barry, who just rolled his eyes.

“Try not to cause too much trouble,” he said, and raced out of the door. Ryan raised his hand in a farewell wave.

“See you later too!” he called, even though he was pretty sure neither of the two superheroes could or wanted to hear him. He reached out and turned the radio back on, listening to the broadcast.

_“Agatha Harkness, this is Monica Rambeau... we know what you’re doing and we demand you release Barry Allen and Kara Danvers from Westview immediately –”_

***

“Have a seat, Miss Danvers, just over there! You’ll find all your reports are already on your desk, and I look forward to reading your newest articles!”

Kara found herself pushed over to a cramped little desk in the back of an office that she could’ve sworn she’d seen somewhere on TV once. Agnes had dropped her off at the door with another smile, once again saying just how glad she was there were some newcomers in town again. So Kara had found herself left alone as she walked up to the woman she assumed she was her new boss, and introduced herself. Now, she stared at the pile of paperwork on her desk and wondered exactly how she was going to get through writing all of these articles. She leaned over to her desk mate, blinking as she realized it was –

“Shel?” Kara asked cautiously, and Shel flashed her a bright grin.

“Miss Danvers! I thought it would be you joining us today. Don’t mind Dottie, by the way, she’s just a little too fond of controlling everything that goes on here, if you ask me –”

“Are you alright?” Kara interrupted, leaning in to speak to them. “From last night?”

Shel’s smile didn’t waver. “What happened last night?”

“You were –"

“Oh, Miss Danvers!” Dottie called from the front of the office, waving cheerily. “Less talk and more work, please!”

“Sorry, sorry,” Kara muttered, adjusting her glasses as she stared down at her paperwork, risking another glance to Shel. But Shel was frozen, their smile plastered blankly on their face midway between standing up and sitting down at their desk again. Then Kara blinked, and Shel was moving again, stapling their files together.

“Shel,” Kara hissed. “Shel, last night you were going to tell me about someone named Wanda –”

Shel froze again. Kara jerked up from her desk, staring around in shock at the rest of the office. Every single reporter surrounding her, even Dottie, was frozen still.

“Don’t,” Shel whispered, their eyes haunted and drawn. “Don’t talk about her, Kara. We don’t want to upset her –”

“Upset who?” Kara pushed, her eyes flashing in annoyance. “Shel, upset who?”

“Hello, darlings!” called a cheery voice from the doors as the bell rang and Agnes walked in, touting a small metal lunchbox with red and yellow clouds colored in on it. “Oh, Miss Danvers! I just ran into your fiancé and he asked me to drop this off for you, how sweet –”

“My... fiancé?” Kara asked, her incredulousness quickly turning to a sinking feeling in her stomach. “You don’t mean –”

“Barry, of course!” Agnes grinned even while Kara shook her head, pushing the lunchbox away from her.

“Agnes, Barry’s married already,” she said, fixing the other woman with a solid stare. “And not to me, his wife’s name is Iris, and –”

The lunchbox fell from Agnes’ hands, tumbling through the air where it landed on the floor with a sickening crack.

“Don’t,” Agnes whispered, fearful. Kara blinked, glancing from side to side as all the other women in the office turned to look at her, their faces all blank. “Don’t try to change things, Kara, you’ll only make it worse. They’re watching us –”

“Watching?” Kara frowned, her dread only deepening. “Agnes, what do you mean, who’s watching?”

“Don’t,” Agnes repeated, grabbing Kara’s hands in hers and staring at her, imploring and wide-eyed. “We can’t say –”

“Oh, Miss Danvers!” Dottie called from the front of the office, waving cheerily. Kara jumped, slowly sliding back into her desk chair. “Less talk and more work, please!”

“Of... course,” Kara said. She glanced around, finding that Agnes was no longer anywhere to be found. She slowly resumed work at her typewriter, the thick unsettling feeling in her stomach not going away anytime soon. After work, she’d reconvene with Barry, and figure out whatever was going on here.

But Kara didn’t think to wonder why she was staying for work at all.

***

“And our newest recruit, Mr. Allen!” The moment Barry entered the Westview Police Department, he found his hand pumped up and down aggressively by someone he thought he had left behind in the past.

“Commissioner... Banner?” Barry asked, confusion written all across his face as Police Commissioner Alfred Cornelius Arnold Banner shook his hand.

“Yes, that’s right! I must say, you do have quite the resume son, very impressive! A criminal investigator with the Central City Police Department for some time, say, what made you decide to move out here to Westview with your fiancé?”

“Fiancé? Oh, no, she’s not my –”

“Where is Central City, anyway?” The Commissioner questioned, sticking a large cigar in between his teeth and lighting. “You know what – no matter. I trust you’re willing to work hard and get justice for all, aren’t you?”

“Uh, yes sir, but I –”

“Go on over and sit down, Allen, you’ll find all the paperwork you need,” the Commissioner clapped him on the back, and Barry walked over to his new desk, pausing. He ran his hand over the placard, frowning in perplexity.

“Hey, how does this already have my name on if it I just arrived –”

Barry froze as he realized the office was dead silent. Not a single person other than himself was moving. He sprinted around, lightning following his footsteps as he peered into the officers’ eyes. They were all frozen, and he wasn’t even using Flashtime to figure this out. Barry ended up back by the entrance, swallowing hard as he backed out through the doors and took off running through Westview. He needed to figure this out with Kara. And fast.

“Barry?!”

Barry turned around, coming to a halt in the middle of the road. Kara flew up to him, her eyes wide and panicked.

“Something super strange is going on here –”

“Yeah, tell me about it, the police department thinks we’re married –”

“So does the Westview Gazette,” Kara interrupted, her gaze drawn and troubled. “Barry, what’s going on?”

“I have no clue either, everyone in the station just froze –”

“And you weren’t using Flashtime?”

“No, not at all, and you know, the weirdest thing was that my desk already had my name on it –”

“I think the weirdest thing right now is that we’re trapped in the 1930s and everyone thinks we’re married,” Kara hissed. Barry held up his hands.

“What happened to you at the office that had you so worried –”

“Agnes walked in, and I asked about Wanda, and everyone told me not to,” Kara said tightly. “Agnes said – she told me not to change things, that someone’s watching us.”

“But who?”

“I don’t know,” Kara shook her head. “I don’t know, Barry, this is the strangest thing that’s ever happened to me –”

“Hey,” Barry said softly, stepping up to her. “Hey, at least we’re here together, right? It could be worse. We could be stuck here with Oliver.”

Kara scoffed, and shook her head.

“He wouldn’t sing or dance. He’d try and break through the barrier the minute he could –”

She broke off, looking towards the edge of the town.

“Every time we’ve wanted to break through, something’s stopped us. Why can’t we -- ?”

“Kara! Barry!”

Kara turned, snapping out of her thought as Ryan ran up to them both, brandishing a newspaper.

“Look at this! Another performance tonight, and you’re on the bill.”

“Another one?” Barry groaned. “Doesn’t whoever in charge have better things to do than make us sing and dance?”

“No, we can’t,” Kara said sternly, pointing off into the distance. “We have to try breaking through again, come on guys –”

“Don’t you want to find out more about this place, about whoever’s trapped us here?” Barry begged.

“Don’t you want to leave, and get back to Iris?” Kara asked, furrowing her brows. “Get back to anyone?”

“Maybe it’s like the Music Meister’s dream,” Barry shrugged, and Ryan nodded. “Maybe we have to go along with the plot in order to get out of here.”

“But the barrier is right there –”

“Why don’t you go ahead and try?” Ryan interrupted. “We’ll wait here in case anything goes wrong, and you can tell us what you find out.”

“But why are you so against going with me?” Kara pushed, her eyes flashing. “Barry, you could be back in one second, just check it out –”

“How do you know I haven’t already gone?” Barry smiled. “Like you said, I could’ve gone and no one even noticed – Kara! Kara, wait! Come back –”

But Kara didn’t listen. She’d shot up into the air immediately, taking off on her flight towards the edge of Westview. They’d only been here a day, and already she felt like this place was messing with her head. And Kara didn’t like places or people that messed with her head. She actually hated them with a passion, which was why she’d tried to avoid all reality-bending scenarios as much as possible – and succeeded, up until now. She didn’t understand why Barry didn’t feel the same way she did. With how many times he’d lost Iris, plus with how many times he’d been trapped himself, why didn’t he want to test the barrier with her? Why didn’t he at least want to make an effort to escape?

Kara drew up short, hovering in the air. Maybe that was it. Maybe Westview didn’t want them looking for a way out. The town had already made them put down roots, living in Ryan’s house, starting their jobs – even going so far as to have her and Barry be married. To each other, which was ridiculous. And if it was going this hard to keep them here now, after just a day of them being here, then who knew who was behind this? And why?

Kara slowly floated back down to the road, staring at the large, shimmering barrier in front of her. She’d come so far in the blink of an eye, but the knowledge that she couldn’t go any further tore at her more than she thought possible. She approached the wall, gently pressing her hand to rest against the lights and colors. Was anyone there on the other side? Was anyone looking for her and Barry already?

“Alex,” she whispered quietly. “I don’t know if you can hear me, but I’m here. And whatever this town wants from us, I won’t give in. I won’t let it make me forget you.”

“Kara!” Barry zoomed up behind her, a stricken look in his eyes. “Kara, where have you been?! It’s almost time for the show to start!”

“Barry, don’t you think we have more important things to worry about than a performance?!” Kara suddenly snapped, gesturing at the barrier in front of her. “Like why we can’t leave the town?!”

“What?” Barry asked, blinking hard. Kara sighed, placing her hands on either side of his head. She closed her eyes, trying to emulate what J’onn had taught her to clear a person’s mind. There was a sharp zapping noise, and Barry suddenly stumbled away from her, his eyes wide.

“Kara? What are we doing here -- ?”

“I’ve been trying to tell you! I think this town is doing something to us, messing with our heads so we don’t try to leave!” Kara said, trying not to sound super frustrated as she actually felt. “You have to stay awake and fight it, Bar!”

“I’m trying,” Barry said hoarsely, taking a long look at the barrier that stretched up before them. “I’m trying, it’s just – don’t you hear it? Don’t you hear her voice in your head?”

“Who’s voice?!” Kara asked, taking a step forward. “Who’s voice do you hear?”

“Oh, Miss Danvers! Mr. Allen!” cried a familiar, friendly voice. Kara and Barry turned to face Agnes as she strode up the street to them, a basket of flowers in her arms. “Goodness, what are you doing all the way out here? It’s almost time for the performance tonight!”

“Agnes, we’re not performing tonight,” Kara shook her head. “We can’t, we’re –”

“We’re leaving town,” said Barry. Agnes looked between them both, then took a closer step up to them while she looked over her shoulder.

“Don’t say that,” she hissed. “She’ll hear you –”

“Who?” Kara frowned. “Wanda?”

Agnes’ eyes burned as she snapped back to look at them. “How do you know that name?”

“Shel told us –”

“Oh, Agnes!”

Barry turned. Running up the other street towards them was yet another one of their neighbors. Kara blinked as Dottie ran up to them, all smiles and carrying a large flowering plant in her arms.

“Goodness, was there a party I wasn’t invited to here? Miss Danvers, Mr. Allen! Don’t you know you only have a half-hour till curtain call?”

“But it was just –” Barry glanced up, watching the sky above their heads grow dark and turn to evening. “It was just the middle of the afternoon –”

“Mr. Allen, are you sure you’re feeling alright?” Dottie asked, placing a hand on his arm. “Come, let’s all go back to the theatre and get ready. Miss Danvers?”

“Right behind you,” Kara breathed, taking one last look at the invisible barrier behind them. It rippled in the air.


End file.
